Chapter 18

When breakfast was over, Zara stood to report to the lab to assist Celeste, who had been working for several hours already. “She’s an early bird. Celeste is also a bit of a control freak. She likes to get everything set up for the day before I get there.”

“Don’t work too hard,” Juniper said.

“Oh, we will. But it’s amazingly interesting. Are you into science?”

“Not at all,” Juniper confessed. “But I can take great pictures if you need visual documentation.”

“That’s a great bonus. I’ll tell Celeste if that’s okay.”

“Of course. I’d love to help,” Juniper offered.

As soon as Zara left, Juniper thought about what she could do for the day. She looked around the room and considered the art area, but coloring didn’t sound fun by herself. Working out? Nah, too sweaty.

Her gaze landed on the rough brick wall next to the exercise area. The texture and colors of the old brick invited her to see what it looked like through her photographic lens. Suddenly, her hands itched to hold her camera.

“Can I go get my camera, Daddy?”

“I’ll clear an elevator for you if you promise not to take pictures of anything vital here in the command center,” he said with a steely tone that clued her in that this was non-negotiable.

“Of course.”

Back on the fifth floor, Juniper tiptoed through the common areas to reach Magnus’s apartment door. “Our door,” she corrected herself in a whisper. Inside, she headed for the playroom and grabbed her camera from the bookshelf.

Distracted by the books, she took a few minutes to choose one to read as well. She might as well stack several things up for herself to do. Juniper sighed deeply. Who was she kidding? Juniper knew she was going to go absolutely stir-crazy if she could only be on the fifth floor or the basement.

Setting her camera back on the shelf where it would be safe, Juniper squared her shoulders. She knew that Rocco had Edmund Rivers’ brother, Eric, on his schedule for today. She wished they’d talked about the time. Dropping to the carpet, Juniper sat cross-legged and grabbed her tablet.

It looked like the average reader, but Juniper had designed the device herself. Accessing the internet, she probed delicately through the connections to find a backdoor. Once inside, she hacked into the Danger Bluff activity schedule. It wasn’t highly protected, but it was restricted to a small group of people who could see the names. Quickly, she created an access for herself that mimicked Magnus’s. He would have to be directly looking for it to find her clone. With a few fancy keystrokes, Juniper was able to convince the system to give her a view of everything.

There. Eric Rivers, rock climbing, ten o’clock.

Checking the time, she discovered she had a half hour before Eric would report to the cliffside where his experience would take place. Rocco had set up forty-five minutes to work with him. Guessing that Eric would leave his hotel room at least ten minutes before the appointment, Juniper figured that she would have at least an hour free from the threat of the henchman discovering her.

Could she even get into the library? Surely, they’d have it locked. An image flashed into her brain, and she dashed back into the common area. There on a hook by the wall hung a huge cluster of keys. She knew instinctively that the keyring contained the power to open all the rooms and buildings. Before she could convince herself that this was a bad idea, she grabbed the collection on the wall, shoved it into her pocket, and sent her Daddy a text.

Going to read in my room for a bit. I’ll call the elevator when I want to come down to the basement.

He answered quickly.

Have fun. Enjoy your playroom.

Now, how could she get out of the top floor without him knowing? Juniper couldn’t use the elevator. He’d just take control of the car and send it directly to the basement. Running back into her room, she looked out the windows. There was a ledge out there that she could shimmy across. However, that seemed dangerous, and how would she get down five floors? Shimmy down the rainspout?

There were stairs by the elevator, but she was sure Magnus had that area wired for him to watch, too. How else could she get to the ground? She didn’t want to count on that old downspout holding her.

Out of the periphery of her vision, she saw the thick branches of the mature trees that decorated the grounds of the resort. An idea popped into her mind, and Juniper rushed to the windows. No trees close enough here. Methodically, she left the apartment to search outside each window in the common area. Nope.

Quiet surrounded her. Maybe the Littles wouldn’t mind if she looked through the windows in their rooms.

Juniper dashed through their apartment and into the common area. She knocked on the door with the black cat. When there wasn’t an answer, she twisted the knob and inched the door open, expecting an alarm to go off at any moment. Celeste and Hawking’s rooms were lovely. She didn’t look around too much, of course. She already felt bad invading their privacy.

In the playroom, she struck gold. There was a branch six inches from one of the windows. Would Magnus have them wired to alert him of an intruder? She searched around the window frame and peeked on the other side of the glass. Not finding anything, she unlatched it and pushed the window up. Each squeak and groan of the older window made her heart skip a beat. Someone was going to hear her.

When it finally stood open, Juniper pressed her hand to her beating heart. She would have been the worst ninja ever. Sneaking out had her every nerve on full alert.

Looking out, she could see people wandering around the grounds and involved in all sorts of activities. She needed a way to blend in. Thinking quickly, she rushed back into their bedroom and flipped on the lights in the closet. Bingo! That’s what she needed. Juniper pulled a Danger Bluff polo shirt from a hanger and yanked it over her head. After smoothing it into place, she looked over the hats displayed on the shelf. Her Daddy sure had a huge collection of baseball caps. She grabbed one from the back, hoping it was old.

Now, in the best disguise she could come up with in a short time, Juniper returned to Celeste’s playroom. Scrambling out onto the window ledge, she didn’t let herself look down. She reached for the closest branch and eased herself onto it. Not feeling daring at all, she dropped to her stomach as soon as she moved completely from the safety of the window ledge. The rough bark bit into her cheek as she clung to the tree. After taking several deep breaths, she convinced herself she was okay. Moving slowly, she scooted down the trunk. Her feet searched for footholds as she moved lower and lower. Finally, her toe touched the ground.

Juniper dropped to the landscaping and huddled against the trunk to regain her breath. She peeked around the tree, hoping she hadn’t attracted any attention. A murmur of voices came from the pool area, but no one seemed to be interested in her.

Time to act cool. She stood and brushed off her Danger Bluff polo. After lowering her cap to throw her face into the shadows, Juniper walked toward the sidewalk. Visitors approached, and she leaned over to pick weeds from the bedding plants. She knew they would assume she was a gardener.

“The grounds are lovely,” an elderly woman called.

“Thank you,” Juniper said in a deep voice. She reached the path as they continued on.

Arriving at the front of the hotel, she spotted Sadie at the reception desk. How was she going to get past the one Little who knew everyone?

“Excuse me?” someone said to Juniper. “Could you help us find the outdoor restaurant? I’m so turned around,” a woman said. Surrounding her was a large family that seemed very lost.

“Of course. It’s easiest through the main building,” Juniper said quickly. “All you have to do is use the signs on the walls. Come on. I’ll show you.”

The group flowed around her, and as a large group, they moved through the lobby area. Juniper pointed to the sign on the wall.

“Just keep going through the back exit, and you’ll run right into it,” Juniper promised.

As the group continued on the correct way, Juniper walked down the hallway, trying to appear as if she had an important job to complete and should totally be there. Ducking around the barriers for the repairs, she tried the key with a bright red plastic keycap cover, hoping that was the master key. She blew out her breath in relief when she heard the lock open and let herself into the conference room. She hesitated for a few seconds. Had anyone seen her?

When no one immediately came to throw her out, she returned to the lever by the window casing. Just as she had discovered that first time, Juniper could feel it moving under her fingertips. Lowering herself to her knees, Juniper wiggled the lever to clear out the layers of paint. As it flaked off, she blew the debris away. Finally, she heard a click.

Turning to the wall, she saw a faint line had appeared. Juniper jumped to her feet and ran over to push on the wall. Nothing. It was stuck firmly. Backing up, she ran at the wall.

The resulting impact rocked her back. Rubbing her shoulder, she checked the crack. It was definitely bigger.

Determined, she rushed toward the wall again. A shriek flew from her mouth as the barrier swung free. Juniper flailed her arms for anything that would break her fall. Her feet landed on a stair, but her momentum was pushing her forward. Without a conscious thought, she grabbed the swinging door when her fingers brushed against it. Her body swayed forward, but she was able to stabilize herself.

Feeling her heart beat a million miles a minute, she tried to pull herself together. Juniper scooted her feet back on the step until she stood securely.

“I just saw a Danger Bluff employee go in there. They must be fixing something,” an unfamiliar male voice said.

“I’m so glad. I love the remodeling they’ve done here, but these old buildings can be hard to maintain.”

That must be his wife. They sounded just outside the door. Juniper whirled around to close the door to block the opening in case they peeked inside the room.

She jumped at the sound of a click. Panicking, she tried to remember how the door reopened. Sammi had pressed something next to the door. Juniper felt for the lights running on a track next to the stairs. Brushing her hand through years of cobwebs, she tried not to think of the creatures that could still be lurking there. Her fingers closed around a bulb, and she traced it back to the switch above.

Crap!It didn’t work. Was the electricity out down here, or was the bulb just bad? She tried another. And another. The fourth bulb she tried flickered into life.

Whirling around, her gaze ricocheted back to the door. There was a notecard-sized button that extended from the surface. She’d be able to push that and get out. Sighing a breath of relief, Juniper turned to look down the stairs.

The meager light extended down several stairs. Slowly, she worked her way toward the bottom, trying all the lights and finding that about one in five actually worked. Once on solid ground, she pulled on her memory to guide her. The path wasn’t as big as she remembered it being as a child. There were a few places she had to duck a bit to squeeze under.

Keeping track of her limited time, Juniper explored as much as she dared. There were a few collections of old things here and there. Nothing that she considered worth anything. She even found shreds of the old wool blanket she and Sammi had sat on as they’d made up scary stories about the people who had created these underground tunnels. Time and the crawly residents had disintegrated it.

She was heading back when she noticed a small opening tucked behind a craggy rock. The light didn’t shine well from the corridor back there. Gathering her courage, she extended a hand into the darkness and fell back on her bottom when her hand touched fabric. Her shriek filled the air, echoing slightly through the empty tunnel.

When her heart stopped beating so hard she could feel it in her neck, Juniper reached back into the alcove. This time, she was expecting it as her fingers brushed over a rough material. Grabbing hold of whatever it was, she tugged the object toward her. It seemed to be caught on something.

Wiggling it this way and that, Juniper didn’t give up. She tugged the material toward her. After a final pull, she plopped onto her bottom, her gaze fixed on a large bag in front of her. The name of a bank was barely legible on the fabric.